Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.

Friday, November 09, 2012

DC brings its monthly comics to Kindle, Nook and iBookstore

Nov 7, 2012 - paidContent

DC Comics is making all of its periodical comic books, like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, available digitally through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple. With those companies all launching new tablets, DC clearly sees them as an important platform for reading comics.

DC Comics is making all of its periodical comic books, like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, available in digital format at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple. The company previously only sold its graphic novels, like the bestselling Watchmen, in those digital bookstores.Digital has been a key part of DC’s strategy for awhile: DC’s comics can already be read digitally on DC’s website and through its iOS and Android apps, and they are all available through digital comics platform comiXology. But as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple all launch new tablets, DC clearly sees them as a new platform for reading comics.“As e-readers and tablets continue to explode in popularity, it’s important for us to offer consumers convenience and choice in how they download digital comics and graphic novels,” DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee said in the release, “and these new distribution deals with the top three e-bookstores do just that.”The deal also means that comic book readers who read text-based books on a specific retailer platform can now keep their illustrated books in the same place. “If you devoted your library to being collected in your Kindle, now you have the option to add to your comics to that,” DC, SVP digital Hank Kanalz told the AP.DC ran into some controversy last year when it gave Amazon a four-month Kindle exclusive on its graphic novels. Barnes & Noble pulled the corresponding physical versions from its bricks-and-mortar stores. Now, though, it seems as if everything has been worked out.DC competitor Marvel does not sell its comic books through digital bookstores, only through its own apps and comiXology.